Acts 5
Bible Passage: Acts 5
Two Sundays ago, the D2D team went to Old Airport Road district to preach to the residents there. It was our second D2D session this year and it was very encouraging to have many serious and sincere co-workers working together for the Lord.
Today’s chapter once again reminds me the importance of the abidance of God when preaching the gospel. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles seized every opportunity to work for Christ, even though they were thrown into prisons, or face opposition and persecutions. They were clearly unafraid; God provided them with the courage and boldness to spread the gospel.
Similarly, we have the Holy Spirit abiding in us today. However, do we submit to His guidance? Do we still entertain sinful thoughts that creep into our hearts?
Ananias and Sapphira were covetous of the wealth of the world and distrustful of God. They professed to have faith in Christ. Wanting to show their generosity, they pretended to bring all the money they had got from a possession. They kept back a part of this money, thinking they could deceive God and the apostles.
Had Ananias not been consenting, this wickedness would not have reigned his heart.
Are we also like Ananias? Do we covet the riches of the world?
What are the thoughts that tend to form in our hearts and minds?
Are we displeased at co-workers in church because they seem to do so little compared to us? Are we jealous of friends because they seem to have everything that we desire? Are we proud because we are more talented than others?
Sometimes we might underestimate any mild thoughts of wickedness formed in our hearts(Matthew 15:19). If we are not careful, Satan will make use of these as stepping stones to allow this wickedness to fester and take charge of our hearts.
Hence we have to be watchful at all times, constantly examine our hearts and ask God to remove the filth within. We must not entertain such evil thoughts.
When Peter rebuked Ananias, he was not given a chance to defend himself, or to repent. Immediately, he died after Peter admonished him. His wife was not spared either.
This incident reminds me of Uzzah who was instantly struck dead for touching the ark of God, against His commandments. God takes His commandments seriously and expects us to keep His commands.
This serves as a stern reminder to me that God is both to be loved and to be feared. He metes out punishments for what we may call trivial offenses. While these sins are not monumental, we must consider that these people are not unbelievers. They were the people of God. Ananias and Sapphira were baptized Christians.
Similarly for us who are baptized into the true church, we have no excuse not to obey His Word.
In the eyes of God, nothing is considered trivial. There is no command in the bible that is not a big deal to God. We must treat His words with great respect and reverence.
When the people heard about this incident, a great fear came upon them. (Acts 5:11)
Sadly, often it is through tragedies that we start to fear God and His commandments. In our comfortable lives today, do we still value the salvation grace that God has given to us? Do we take for granted what God has already given us, and continue to sin some more? Must an unfortunate event occur before we start to obey?
May God have mercy on our weaknesses and guide us to evaluate our faith.
4 Comments
Love&Respect
“We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
Do we fear certain people more than God? Are we respecting and following their suggestions more than we follow God’s word? Are we afraid that others will despise and laugh at us for standing up for Jesus? Are we easily intimidated by outer circumstances?
Do we obey our own will and desire for comfort more than we submit to God’s will?
Peter was definitely strengthened and transformed by the Holy Spirit, which is why he knew very clearly who Jesus was and why he loved Him. And because he loved Jesus, he very naturally obeyed God and carried out the commission that was given to him even in the face of persecution.
May God help us through the power of His Holy Spirit to love and obey Him more.
biblereadingcompanion
The story of Annanias and Sapphira is oft repeated as a warning to us and it is worth considering once again today. If Satan cannot defeat the church by attacks from the outside, he will get on the inside and go to work (Acts 20:28-31).
Satan is so devious and knows how to lie to the hearts and minds of believers… even devout Christians – and get them to follow his orders.
The admonition to put on the spiritual armour is for all Christians (Eph 6:10-18) because we are in danger of being used by Satan to accomplish his purposes.
It is frightening how easily we can be deceived and choose the wrong things to do, despite being surrounded by Godly people and the fellowship of the Word. Let us not lose sight of Jesus and be wary of the prowling lion!
“….they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” ~ Acts 5:42
I did not really notice this before but feel that it is most instructive that the verses reads that the witness of the apostles and the believers included both teaching and preaching.
The word “preach” simply means to share the good news of Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor 15:1-8 if you do not know what the good news is all about (: )
But proclamation must be balanced with instruction (see Acts 2:42) so that sinners will know what to believe and why they believed. The message of the good news cannot produce fruit unless the person understands it and does something with it (Matt 13:18-23). Believers cannot grow unless they are taught the Word of God (1 Pet 2:1-3).
And the centre of the apostle’s witness was Jesus Christ – the very name that the Sanhedrin had condemned! The early church did not go about arguing religion or condemning the establishment; they simply told people about Jesus Christ and told them to trust and believe in Him!
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…” (2 Cor 4:5).
InHisTime spoke about the Door to Door (D2D) preaching that has been carried out for some time. We need more people to just tell others about Jesus. We also need more people to teach the Word of God.
Pray that the Lord of Harvest will send forth His workers.
appleofHiseye
InHisTime put forth good questions worth reflecting on. So I chose to reflect on: “What are the thoughts that tend to form in our hearts and minds”? Because I was struck by what InHisTime shared, how “sometimes we might underestimate any mild thoughts of wickedness formed in our hearts”(Matthew 15:19). And I think often when we are in action carrying out a task or speaking to someone, it can be hard to think twice about what we say or do, and whether it is a good deed done in sincerity of heart. We must act in the very moment.
I think a good example of someone who knew how to think twice, and be careful in the choosing of his words and actions is Gamaliel-who is mentioned towards the end of the chapter. From Acts 5:33, we see all the other pharisees were furious and plotted to kill Peter and the other apostles. We can see their anger, envy, evil thoughts and all these mixed feelings and desires to fend their pride. It is quite sad to witness such a scene because they were the leaders of the church, yet they were consumed by such evil thoughts, of covetousness, jealousy and greed. Anyways, one of the pharisees was Gamaliel, also a teacher of the law and well respected. But what can we learn from him, what separated him from the other pharisees? We see here, there was an argument, and we see how he commanded the apostles to go outside, while he advised the other pharisees to wait and see. He advised them to leave this matter in the hands of God.
So if something cannot be resolved right then and there, leave it God. And especially in church, do not argue or fight lest we go against God like Ananias and Sapphira. So it’s really important to learn how to really “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger: for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19), and to be careful of our desires in our very actions for they will be accounted to us.
Let’s try to obey God more today.
PS
“Had Ananias not been consenting, this wickedness would not have reigned his heart.”
Allow me to spend part of the 5 mins to ponder on this statement.
Acts 4:4 “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Did Peter question Ananias about control over physical possession only? No, Peter was rebuking Ananias about the lack of control of his heart too.
The sinful thought was first conceived in Ananias’ heart. Leaving a foothold for Satan, Ananias was tempted when he was drawn away by his own desire and enticed. Trappped!
Then when the desire of greed and for good name has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)
The womb is the only organ which can bring forth baby, isn’t it?
With a bit of imagination, the heart is actually more productive. The heart, without control, can give birth to many off-springs of sins to fill the earth.
Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
In Matthew 5:28 Lord Jesus said, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Is Lord Jesus setting a higher standard than before?
May be He is not. He is judging the world by the same standard which He used in the days of Noah. He looks at the intent of the thoughts of man’s heart.
We are reborn through baptism as His people. The Holy Spirit dwells in our heart as our Counsellor.
Why do we allow one other than Lord Jesus into our heart?
If Satan is allowed to bring forth offsprings of sins amidst His people, it is no wonder that God call them harlots.
God’s absolute standard is the same yesterday, today and forever. He looks at the heart.
Close the door of the heart to Satan immediately!